Sonora won the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV championship, beating Hilmar, and went on to win the first two games on the road to the CIF State Championship game.

The section title was the first in school history.

It could not have come at a better time as the community was in need of some good news in the midst of recovering from the recent Rim Fire that devastated more than 250,000 acres in parts of Tuolumne County.

The girls' success has brought the small-town community together in its time of need.

"It has been amazing for our little town," said Sonora's JV volleyball coach, Andrea Fray, in an email. "This team is so dynamic, but most of all, this team has brought our community to a new level."

The Sonora Wildcats were ranked No. 2 in the Northern California bracket of the CIF State playoffs.

Sonora's head varsity coach, Kim Evans, was named Model Coach of the Year in the league.

Most of the team's 11 players should be returning to play for the Wildcats next year, with only two seniors graduating.

Sonora will play Menlo High School in the NorCal Regional finals Tuesday at 7 p.m.

The winner advances to the CIF State High School Volleyball Championship on Saturday in Southern California.

3 -- Top-ranked players in NorCal: According to NorCalPreps.com, Granite Bay linebacker Cameron Smith, who is committed to play for USC, tops the list in the Sac-Joaquin Section. Jake Browning, a Washington-bound quarterback at Folsom, is second on the list and is expected to set more state records this year after his exceptional performance last season. L.J. Reed, who recently transferred from Cosumnes Oaks to Tokay, made a big impact with Cosumnes Oaks last season as a wide receiver and is expected to really boost Tokay's team.

Malaya Elgarico, of Elk Grove's Franklin High School, is behind a lot of firsts. She is preparing to wrestle in the state meet, she's wrestled on the boys varsity team, and she's even earned a scholarship at the only Division 1 school in the country with women's wrestling, Eastern Michigan University. Del Rodgers explains how her success is having a domino effect at the school.

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